


Breath of Life

by dragonfly_reborn



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-12 20:34:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4493787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonfly_reborn/pseuds/dragonfly_reborn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was supposedly killed in battle when avenging his crew, but apparently it was not yet his time. Turns out King Yemma has other plans for this warrior--which is better than being scorched alive--but what's so urgent about finding some girl from another world? And an earthling at that.</p>
<p>
  <i>
    <b></b>
  </i>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>Bardock x Reader</p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been thinking, and I figured I'd go ahead and post the first part to my newest story. I hope you guys will enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it, if not more.  
>   
> Anyway, this starts towards the end of the Bardock special. You should watch it if you haven't yet.  
>   
> As usual, I'm not going to include every word for word dialog from the special; that would simply be too boring, in my opinion.  
>   
> Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. If I did, Bardock would've been revived, or at least had more cameos cause he's so awesome (not to mention dead-sexy, no pun intended). OC’s appearing in this story © me.

  
**_Prologue  
_** \- - - - - -

A frown curved the pair of black lips of the tyrant, Freeza, as a single low-level Saiyan flew at turbo speed towards his ship with the intention to bring him down. It was clear the lone surviving warrior of his crew had received massive injuries from the surprise attack by Dodoria, one of Freeza’s henchmen. The attack would have killed an ordinary man, but the Saiyans were known to grow stronger with each battle that brought them to the brink of death.

“FREEZA!” Bardock shouted at the top of his lungs. 

Freeza’s soldiers rushed in after the Saiyan, coming at him from all angles, only to be eradicated by Bardock’s energy attacks. Many then started ganging up in attempt to restrain Bardock, only to be a fruitless attempt as the Saiyan’s instincts from his experience in battles and adrenaline continued to flow through him. Opening his hand, Bardock released a wave of energy, throwing the multitude of soldiers off of him, save for two holding onto the Saiyan’s neck and left arm. 

“Freeza! Come out and face me, you coward!” challenged Bardock.

Out of fear, the two soldiers released their hold on Bardock when Freeza emerged from his spaceship in his egg-shaped vehicle. 

The memory his slaughtered comrades kept Bardock’s desire for revenge burning as the elites surrounding him began shouting Frieza’s name.

“Long live Lord Freeza!” one cheered.

“Yeah, long live Lord Freeza!” another agreed. 

“No way; you’ve lived long enough!” Bardock shouted with unmasked resentment. “Actually it’s been too long for my taste! Freeza, listen up! We quit; all of us! You can find someone else to do your dirty work!” The wounded Saiyan concentrated ki to his right hand, preparing for his attack; if this placed a strain on him from current condition, he did not show it. “This is for all the people that we killed in your name!” the Saiyan proclaimed. “I only wish we’d never been foolish enough to obey you! Here! Catch!”

The Saiyan threw the energy attack at the Ice-jin, who remained unfazed despite the energy hurtling in his direction. Freeza, who’d shown no sign of effort to evade the attack, lifted his hand and extended a single digit with energy the size of an eyeball. Right before the Saiyan’s attack reached the Ice-jin, Freeza lifted his finger with the minuscule-sized energy and began to laugh maniacally while the energy ball expanded dramatically until it was nearly the size of his spaceship, absorbing Bardock’s attack as though it were nothing. 

The wounded Saiyan’s eyes widened, all traces of fury and determination turned into shock and panic. “No way!!!” 

The elites who had just shown their allegiance to Freeza shared the same reaction as Bardock. Freeza was known for being callous, even to his allies when he no longer saw use for them. In this case the soldiers were simply in the way of Planet Vegeta and the tyrant’s pre-meditated plan to destroy it when the Saiyans became too strong and rivaled his own strength.

Freeza threw his attack forward, and Bardock was the first to be hit by it. A pained yell involuntarily tore from the Saiyan’s throat as the intensified heat began to sear his flesh. His armor slowly began to disintegrate while his red headband from the blood of his murdered comrades came untied and was blown away due to the rushing strength of the blazing heat. 

With his strength now drained, Bardock could do nothing but wait for the merciless inferno to devour him until there was nothing left. 

Suddenly, Bardock had a vision: there was a young man clad in orange and blue and features identical to Bardock’s, stood strong and fearless as he stared down his opponent, Freeza, on an unknown planet with green grass and water. It was that moment that everything became clear. The man was Bardock’s youngest son, Kakarot, and it would be through him that Freeza would be defeated.

Despite the excruciating pain that continued prodding his entire being, a smile tilted the Bardock’s bloodied face. He then began to lose the remains of any awareness he still had, but not before yelling out just before the world around him went completely black, “KAKAROT!” 

Right before the man’s smoldering form was reduced to mere ashes, a bright light enveloped him like a veil, shielding him from the fiery core and disappearing seconds before Planet Vegeta was no more.

\- - - - - -


	2. Part I

  
**_Part I  
_** \- - - - - -

Curious, honey-colored eyes blinked, head angling to the side. “So this is the guy?”

“Yes, Kohaku **(1)** , he’s the one,” replied an elderly woman across the room, her petite form was perched upon her floating crystal ball. “Now let’s give him time to rest. He’s been through a lot, so I don’t want you overwhelming him with questions when he wakes up.”

The young girl lifted her head and directed her line of sight over towards her mentor, then shook her head. “I won’t.”

“Besides, this would be the ideal time to catch up on your other studies.”

More work…oh, joy. 

Head bowing, Kohaku muffled a disappointed sigh, but obeyed. “Okay…” 

Kohaku slid off of her own crystal ball and ambled towards the door. She moved to the side for the blue ogres entering the room on her way out.

“Beg your pardon, Baba. King Yemma needs to see you.”

= = = = = = = =

Somewhere in the infinite darkness of space, a ship traveled amongst the stars and passed the rushing comets. A pair of blood-red eyes stared dully out the dome-shaped window and hardly acknowledged the footsteps approaching the ship’s chambers.

“Excuse me, Lady Frosta? **(2)** Lord Freeza has requested an audience with you.” 

A sigh of disinterest left the female Ice-jin’s lips as she continued staring out the window, finger absently tracing along the glass’s edge full of wine. 

“Did he, now? Must be intending to boast about his recent genocide of Planet Vegeta. I would’ve done away with every one of those repulsive monkeys myself had their home planet not been in Freeza’s territory. I swear, what is that fool thinking: eliminating the race he fears, yet still keeps the young heir of King Vegeta alive? Ha! When wiping out a race, it needs to be all or nothing—no survivors! If he can’t remember a simple rule such as that, Freeza might as well _throw_ himself into the lion’s den.” 

“Yes, but the Saiyans were one of the strongest fighters, Milady. From what I hear, Prince Vegeta’s strength is quite remarkable for someone his age; perhaps your brother plans to use that to his advantage.” 

Frosta’s grip on her wine glass tightened, causing it to shatter in her hand and the liquid contents to spill over the floor beside her throne. “And…just _where_ do you get the audacity to disagree with your leader?” The servant’s face paled as the Ice-jin’s alabaster tail slowly uncoiled from its owner’s slender waist just before smacking the floor at lightning speed. The appendage slowly rose, revealing a crater in the floor in its place. Wine and blood oozed from Frosta’s hand, still clenching the pieces of broken glass. “I also refuse to be reminded of my relation to that paranoid fool.”

Gulping and eyes widening, the servant’s entire body trembled in fear as he prostrated himself on the floor. “F-forgive me, Milady! Please have mercy!”

An eerie smirk tilted Frosta’s lips as she gracefully rose from her throne and floated across the room over to her servant’s still-kneeling position. “What’s the matter? Why do you tremble?” she asked in a mock-soothing tone as she tilted the soldier’s head up by the chin with her finger then began stroking his cheek in a mock-caress. “I haven’t inflicted any wounds on you as of recently; which reminds me…how are those previous ones healing up?”

The soldier’s entire being tensed, sweat beads rolling down his face as his eyes carefully and fearfully watched Frosta’s fingers continuing to ghost over his skin. Like her brother, Frosta was also known for being callous and enjoyed tormenting others, but she would use passive-aggressive approach while speaking in a calm, yet icy tone before torturing or killing someone. It wasn’t uncommon for those who survived the torture from her to wish that she had finished them off. 

Frosta inspected the soldier’s arms with her non-injured hand, helping him to his feet. “You seem to remember that little warning I gave you from last time,” she observed with feigned casualness. Lifting the arm she held, she motioned to the dozens of scars courteous of her tail along with burnt marks that went up the arm and covered the right side of the soldier’s face up to the eye. “Oh, of course! That’s why.” 

Lifting her bloodied hand, Frosta slowly extended her fingers, exposing the glass shards embedded in there and squeezed the arm. The soldier’s eyes widened and his mouth involuntarily opened, about to scream, before Frosta’s tail roughly clamped over his mouth to silence him, save for pained muffled screams. “Let both that crater over there and these wounds serve as an example for what will happen to you the next time you question, or defy me. _Understand_?” 

After removing her tail from the servant’s face, he quickly nodded as he sputtered, “Y-yes, Ma’am! It won’t happen again!” 

Smirking, Frosta released the arm which was now covered in blood and some of the broken glass. “That’s _better_. Your blood is getting all over the floor; clean that up then fetch my scouter.”

= = = = = = = =

The quiet blackness surrounded him as he continued drifting in unconsciousness. Was this what death was like? It was rather nice. However, that didn’t stop the next vision from intruding his mind’s eye; those things seemed to appear at the worst time possible. What was it this time?

Through a haze of red, the vision showed a girl backing up against a wall as a shadowed outline of someone crept closer. Fear reflected through her wide, (color) eyes while her scraped hands searched desperately on the floor for some means of defense, until discovering a metal pipe close by, her trembling hands clutched the object without hesitation. This wasn’t the same girl as the one in a previous vision with his son; what was important about this one? 

The girl swung the pipe as the unknown pursuer advanced another step closer, only to be seized roughly by the neck and pinned against the wall, and the weapon smacked out of her grasp. She struggled and screamed something just before being yanked up the ground and something lunged forward, a tail to be precise, impaling the girl’s chest. After the initial shock seemed to wear off, the girl raised her hand shakily to touch her new wound; blood began to ooze out of the corner of her mouth as she looked her attacker in the eye before her own eyes shed a solitary tear as it dulled and her head motionlessly flopped downward, her hands falling limply at her side.

Wait, a tail? Freeza! 

Then, just like all the other visions before, it stopped abruptly. Bardock fought the onslaught of dizziness and forced his eyes open as he sat upright, his eyes wide at the shocking discovery. He was in a huge room he’s never seen before. There were no computers, doctors or rejuvenation tanks in sight; speaking of which, the confused Saiyan looked down and saw that he was lying in a bed. 

“Wha…what’s going on?!” he wondered aloud, his dry throat causing his voice to be barely audible. “Where am I?”

Still in a dazed state, he held his open palms in front of him, brunt marks and clotted blood coated his flesh. Bardock inspected both hands then carefully flexed and unfurled both hands into fists, stunned at the realization both appendages obeyed without any difficulty or pain. 

“Am I even dead?” 

The door slowly opened, causing the confused Saiyan to tense and turn his attention over towards the end of the room. A blue ogre in business attire and glasses approached the bed wounded Saiyan currently lied in, carrying some kind of bundle in his arms. “Here. Put these on then come with me.” The Saiyan just looked at the ogre then down at the outfit, then back at the ogre again. “King Yemma asked for me to come get you when you awoke. As soon as you’re ready, meet me outside,” he replied, then left the room before the Saiyan could ask him anything.

Casting a glance at the now closed door, Bardock couldn’t help but furrow his brow and ask himself, “What in the world…?”

= = = = = = = =

Entering the gigantic room, the Saiyan saw a tall figure sitting behind an enormous desk. The figure glanced down from his book. “Ah, Bardock, come in.”

Bardock’s stance stiffened in the doorway. Who was this guy, and how did he know Bardock’s name? Sure he had enemies, but the way this guy addressed the Saiyan seemed casual as one would talk to their best friend. 

Seeing the Saiyan not moving from his spot, King Yemma furrowed his brows. “Well? Are you going to just stand there all day?”

Baba hovered to his eyelevel on her crystal ball. “I think you may have made him feel uneasy with knowing his name, while you have yet to introduce yourself.”

Bardock’s tail twitched impatiently. “Would someone mind telling me where I am, and what’s going on here?” 

“This is the check-in station.” 

Subconsciously stepping into a fighter stance, Bardock’s eyes darted around the room for whoever spoke. “Who said that?!”

“Kohaku, don’t startle our guest,” Baba scolded. 

Kohaku bowed her head apologetically then floated over to join Baba and King Yemma. 

King Yemma cleared his throat. “Well, let’s get business then. I am King Yemma, Lord of the Afterlife; as for the ‘what’s’…well, it’s a rather complicated matter,” his hand gestured to the swivel chair in the center of the room. “Please, have a seat; this will take some time to explain.” 

The sternness and perplexity on Bardock’s features remained, but he hesitantly, and reluctantly, complied. If anything, he’d at least get answers to his questions.

= = = = = = = =

Bardock stood abruptly from his seat in shock and disgust. “So it wasn’t a dream! Freeza’s still out there somewhere…”

King Yemma resumed thumbing through the pages of his guidebook. “Hmm… Yes, you did have a close call, there’s no question about that. However, thanks to Baba and Kohaku here, your life has been spared.”

Sitting on top of her crystal ball, Kohaku levitated up beside King Yemma when her name was mentioned.

“What for?” Bardock questioned.

“It would appear we need your help, Bardock. Though I must admit, I am reluctant about this, what with your reputation with being a Space Pirate and all."

Bardock clenched his hand into a tight fist. All those things, though true, had come from orders from Freeza. He never would have worked under that tyrant if he had known about it being a set up to dispose of him and his comrades as though they were pieces of trash. His comrades were gone now…nothing could ever bring them back. “So why did you decide to spare my life if you don’t trust me?” 

“I may not like the idea, but I’m afraid there are no other options,” King Yemma turned the page before continuing, “it also says that you fought selflessly in attempt to bring this Freeza down in order to save your planet and race.” King Yemma closed and sat the book down then folded his fingers on top of his desk. “Let me ask you something: What was the last thing you saw through foresight?” 

Bardock's eyes widened in surprise. “How could you know about—”

“We witnessed it through Baba’s crystal ball, which was also how we were able to find and bring you here before it was too late.”

“And I was the only one you decided to bring here?”

“Yes.” 

Bardock clenched his fist. So his effort had been in vain after all, the prophecy from that Kanassan had come to pass. Then again, only half of what was revealed had happened; he had survived the genocide. 

King Yemma cleared his throat. “Bardock, your final act before arriving here was a noble cause; while this doesn’t erase the fact that you’ve destroyed lives in the past, as of now, we do not have a final destination for you. Therefore, we will try something never attempted before; I am aware of your ability of foresight, thus I am going to assign you a special and very important task.

“Kohaku here will escort you to the planet and will relay your test once there. The two of you must hurry; time is of the essence here.”

= = = = = = = =

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, Milady, we shall be arriving there shortly.”

Frosta rose from her throne and made her way to the window, where a planet of blue and green came into view. “Excellent. It’s only a matter of time.”

= = = = = = = =

_~Show me what it's like, to dream in black and white, so I can leave this world tonight. Holding on too tight, breathe the breath of life, so I can leave this world behind…~_

You hummed to the song currently playing inside the CD player of your car while driving through the streets of the city you just moved to. A light case of rain tapped against the windshield, leaving small translucent beads of water. You turned on the wipers, recalling the forecast that morning announcing to expect a case of showers. 

_‘Good thing I didn’t have much to pack; I should be done unloading my stuff before it really starts coming down.’_

Once you turned on the street of your new home, you stared in awe through the windshield as you pulled into the driveway—your driveway now. You cut the engine and ejected the keys from the ignition, then opened the car door to stretch your legs from the long drive, and stepped out and glanced around the front yard. You grimaced at the plaster gnome that stood erect in the patch of dirt beside the front porch, its faux sky-blue eyes stared unblinkingly back at you as if calculating your every move. The previous homeowner must’ve thought your taste in decorations was identical to their own. 

_‘How can some people **not** find those things creepy?’_ You rubbed your arms as you shuttered. _‘As soon as I unload the trash can, that’s exactly where it’s going.’_

“Well, better start unloading before the rain picks up,” you mused, opening up the trunk of the car and pulling out your suitcase with one hand and anything else you could carry with the use of your other hand. You searched through your ring of keys until you found the correct one and inserted it into the keyhole, smiling when you heard the click and turned the knob, opening the door to your new home. Stepping in, your eyes wander around the first rooms in awe, like an eager child setting foot into an amusement park for the first time. 

Yeah, you were beginning to miss certain things about your old neighborhood, but this was a change for the better. It wasn’t like you’d never see your friends again; there’d be opportunities for that whenever you found some time from your new job. Your old neighborhood didn’t have as many opportunities for your ideal career, not to mention the economy struggling made job hunting tougher than it would have been otherwise. 

Fortunately you were gifted with the ability to draw and after submitting your resume along with samples of your work to a well-known company, two interviews later, you were hired. Downside to that was in order to commute, you were to be relocated, but thanks to the money you had saved up, you managed to purchase a decent house not too far from the studio. 

After unloading the last of your luggage, you made your way towards the living room and plopped yourself on your couch, falling asleep instantly after a long day’s drive.

= = = = = = = =

Strings of hot water pelted the tiled floor, the hissing noise and rising steam from the shower were drowned out by Bardock’s thoughts.

The truth was he wasn’t that willing to search for a person he had no connection to. Frieza was still out there and King Yemma knew that. It made no sense to assign the once Space Pirate to baby-sit a puny earthling for Kami knows how long, when he could use this time to search for his infant son and train him until he would be strong enough to take on Frieza? 

Bardock felt an odd twinge just then. He had been too blind by his disappointment at his son’s minute power level to realize the baby’s true potential. Sure he now knew Kakarot would survive into adulthood, but unless there were other Saiyans already on planet Earth, who else would be qualified to train him in the ways of a Saiyan? 

Once he was done showering, Bardock got out and adorned the outfit given to him by the Ogre from before. It wasn’t anything too complex, just typical black pants, white shirt, and a black waist-length jacket. **(3)**

“Are you ready to go?” asked Kohaku, hovering down to Bardock’s eye-level on her crystal ball.

The Saiyan shrugged and continued walking out of the main hall. It wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter. But once finished, he was going to go find his son. 

“Umm…Mister Bardock?” 

The Saiyan stopped in his tracks, not used to hearing his name addressed formally but quickly got over it, and flicked his head to the side. “What?”

Kohaku glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was there, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a familiar piece that caused the Saiyan’s eyes to widen. Extending her hand, Kohaku held the red headband Bardock had lost in his fight with Freeza. Bardock took the headband into his hand once Kohaku handed it to him. 

“I can’t use magic as well as my master but this looked important, so I used my magic to retrieve it and return it to you.”

After he retied the article around his forehead, Bardock prepared himself to do something he had never done before: “Uh…thanks.”

Kohaku responded with a closed-eyed smile. “No problem!”

The two returned to the main room where Baba and King Yemma waited, the former standing in the center with her crystal ball out in front of her.

“Now that the two of you are here, let’s review your objective before you’re sent off,” said Yemma. 

Baba began to wave her hands over her crystal ball while chanting an incantation. Within seconds, the image showed the young woman whom Bardock saw murdered in the vision he had. 

“Her name is ___ ___, and she will be pursued. It seems a member of Freeza’s clan is headed towards the planet Earth; we’re not sure how yet, but somehow this girl will become a victim unless you put a stop to it.” The image vanished and Baba spared Bardock a glance. “I don’t think I need to tell you how dangerous Freeza’s kind can be.”

Bardock clenched his hand into a fist then let out a low, primal snarl. “Will that bastard also be there?” 

Baba shook her head. “Afraid not. Any further questions will have to be answered by Kohaku; we’re already tight on schedule as it is.”

Kohaku held her hand out. “You better take my hand now; otherwise you’ll get trapped in a vortex for eternity.”

The Saiyan reluctantly did as he was told and waited for something to happen. 

The little girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath: 

“Open the door connecting dimensions both near and far, we must travel by neither pod nor car.  
Transport us to the planet that’s calling, for this man to prevent it from falling.  
Clear a path to our destination, to rid it of the arriving infestation.” 

A bright light began to swirl around both Bardock and Kohaku, the former not lowering his guard for a moment. The light began to swirl faster, creating a current of wind circulating around them. The swirl of light began to spread over until it became like a cocoon, then came a flash of white and they both disappeared.

\- - - - - -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **(1)** Kohaku: Japanese for amber. I'll be uploading drawing of her soon.
> 
> **(2)** Frosta: I figured I'd give her a name that was another pun off of ice, seeing as the rest of Freeza's family does. I'll be uploading drawing of her soon.
> 
> **(3)** Think of Squall’s outfit from Final Fantasy VIII.


	3. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to my lovely and awesome reviewers:  
>  **  
> Max  
>  KumikoReads   
> MadHatter101 **
> 
> Also thought it would be worth mentioning: All of my stories were written before any information about the Xenoverse game came out, so I wasn't aware of Freeza's race being asexual like Namekians and the thought of a female Ice-jin fascinated me when I created Frosta. I hope this doesn't offend or deter anyone from reading future updates.

  
**_Part II  
_** \- - - - - -

**  
_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_  
**

Your hand groggily reached over the couch’s armrest to shut off your alarm then slowly sat up, stretching your arms over your head while yawning. 

Rubbing your eyes, you glanced at the time on your alarm then sighed; you were by no means a morning person. Luckily, you didn’t start your first day of work until tomorrow, which gave you some time to unpack your belongings and explore your new neighborhood a bit. 

The only catch was right outside your window: it was pouring out there. 

_‘Probably won’t be a good idea to go driving in this weather, at least not while I’m still new to the area… Time for Plan B then.’_

You decided to contact your loved ones and let them know that you had arrived to your new home safely, seeing as you were too drained to do that when you’d first arrived. You reached for your cell, and noticed a new message. You went to your voicemail and pressed the phone to your ear, the little trinkets attached to your phone dangling from this motion. 

_“You have ONE new message,”_ came the automated voice. 

_“Hi, Sweetie, it’s Mom! I know you’re probably still busy from your moving, but I thought I’d let you know that there’s expected to be a storm coming in over where you are; it’s supposed to last all day according to the forecast. Anyway, I hope you’re doing well and stay safe! Okay, well I’ll talk to you later. I love you!”_

You exited out of voicemail then went over to the nearest window. Disappointed, you lied back down on the couch and sighed. _‘It’s my first full day on my own, and I’m cooped up inside because of some stupid storm.’_ Getting to your feet you stretched while yawning, still feeling tired but knew you still had to unpack. “I might as well get started then.” 

Just then, the doorbell rang.

= = = = = = = =

In a back alley, a cat continued nibbling on its food from the garbage can while taking shelter under the roof and gutter from the pouring rain. Suddenly, a strong burst of wind circulated the area, causing the stray animal to shoot its head up in fright then took off running, not worried about getting soaked at the moment.

White swirls materialized and expanded then gradually diminished, leaving Bardock and Kohaku. The Saiyan studied his new surroundings then grunted in annoyance when his tail started becoming wet from the rain. The appendage twitched from the rain before the warrior wrapped it around his waist in typical Saiyan fashion. Bardock let go of Kohaku’s hand then folded his arms over his chest as he stared up at the cloudy sky.

“Are you sure this person lives here?” he asked. 

Kohaku nodded. “She definitely lives on this planet, but my magic isn’t strong enough to take us directly to her; this is the farthest it’ll go.”

Bardock sighed then shook his head in disbelief. 

“From the looks of it, though,” Kohaku continued, gazing into her crystal ball, “she seems to be close by.” She tore her eyes away from the circular object in her hands and looked up at Bardock. “Oh yeah, my master and King Yemma wanted me to tell you not to look up at the moon when its full while you’re here, and to keep your tail concealed.”

Bardock frowned. “How do you people expect me to use my full power then if I need to?”

Kohaku shrugged. “I don’t know. They just said you would know what they meant.” 

Before Bardock could comment further, another vision caught him by surprise. There was the same girl opening a door, seemingly surprised by the person standing outside and her mouth began moving as she talked to them. Their back was turned, making it impossible for Bardock to see who it was. The young woman’s confusion and uneasiness appeared to increase then she shook her head and closed the door. 

The stranger turned to leave a few seconds later, the umbrella held over their head hid their features from Bardock’s minds eye, save for the smirk that tilted their lips. 

The vision ended immediately, leaving Bardock holding one of his palms to his forehead while the other pressed flat against the cold, wet brick wall in front of him for support. Eyes shut tightly and teeth gritted, he shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. 

“A-are you alright, Mr. Bardock?” Kohaku asked, concerned. As she started to approach the Saiyan, he held his hand out, stopping her. 

“I’m fine,” Bardock replied before he slowly pushed himself from the wall, then looked at a worried-looking Kohaku. “I just saw something.”

Kohaku nodded then reached into her long, black sleeve and pulled out a pair of sunglasses and an umbrella. “These are for you. My master wanted me to give them to you before I left.” Bardock took the items and stared at them in confusion, then Kohaku continued, “She said that the sunglasses will work like that scouter thing you had over your eye before, and should help you detect the person as well as any danger.”

Bardock continued to examine the objects, having never seen one before. 

“Well, I need to be getting back now,” Kohaku told him, climbing back onto her crystal ball. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Bardock, and good luck.”

Before Bardock could ask something Kohaku vanished, leaving him alone in the pouring rain.

= = = = = = = =

You stood on your tip toes and leaned against the door and peered into the peephole, squinting your eyes to try to get a better look at who was at the door.

“Who is it?” you asked.

“This is the Animal Control Unit,” was the reply from the other side.

_‘Animal Control? But I don’t own any pets.’_

Hesitantly, you opened the door. On the other end stood an average-height woman in a raincoat and an umbrella over her head.

“Hi. May I help you?” 

The person cleared her throat. “Sorry to bother you, Miss. We’re going around informing local residents of a wild animal that’s recently escaped our facility and we’re advising everyone to heed caution.”

You nodded while rubbing your eyes from the lingering fatigue. “What kind of animal?”

“They’re akin to the monkey family, and are much larger than the gorilla; I’ll leave this flier here with you in case you spot this animal." She opened her binder and pulled out a sheet of paper along with a business card and handed them to you, saying, “Here is all the information you need to know along with the number to call if you happen to spot it.” 

You shuttered at the thought of a wild animal roaming your neighborhood at this very moment. “Thank you, I’ll definitely keep a look out.”

The woman nodded. “No problem, have a nice day.”

_‘Quite a welcoming this has been: I move in to a nice town only to find out there’s a wild animal running loose.’_ You looked out the window and sighed as the rain continued to pour. “Wonder how long it’ll last… guess I should start unpacking everything.”

= = = = = = = =

After finally figuring out how to open the umbrella, though not without being poked in the eye by one of the stubs, Bardock held the object over his head to shield him from the heavy rain. He put on his sunglasses and scanned his surroundings with his new piece of equipment.

A few seconds went by, but no signal whatsoever registered. 

“What the—oh, you have got to be kidding. Are these creatures really _that_ weak?” 

This day just possibly couldn’t get any worse! 

Angry, Bardock reached up to remove the shades from his face but paused when he felt what seemed like a switch on the upper left rim. Bardock ran his finger over this new discovery and then pressed it. Suddenly two polygon-shaped boxes appeared from the lower left-hand corner, much like his old scouter would have. 

Bardock’s eyes narrowed into slits and he sighed, his shoulders slouching. “Very funny…” 

Like a compass, the blocks on the lens turned into an arrow and the Saiyan looked to his right where the arrow pointed to a very low and minuscule number. 

“That must be her,” Bardock thought to himself before clenching his fist and heading out in that direction. His ingrained battle instincts kicked in as his feet left the ground, forgetting the very strict order not to do anything that appeared conspicuous during his mission.

\- - - - - -


End file.
